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Dundorfian Empire
Dundorfian Empire (Dundorfian: Dundorfisches Reich) was a state which encompassed the modern Northern Artanian nations of Dorvik in the north, Rutania and Aloria in the west and Kirlawa in the east. The Dundorfian Reich, translated often to Dundorfian Empire but really closer to Dundorfian Realm was one of the largest empires within world history. The Dundorfian Empire was founded officially on June 21st, 1831 but existed much earlier in theory and concept. The Dundorfian Empire was ruled by a hereditary Emperor, known as the Dundorfian Emperor, the Dundorfian Emperor was one the most powerful figures in Artania and the Dundorfian Empire is responsible for much of the development of Northern Artania. The Dundorfian Empire has its roots in the numerous Dundorfic tribes which populated the area. The first Dundorfian Emperor, known as the Kasier in Dundorfian was Hosian V von Klings who became Kasier Hosian VI. It was the Emperor's decision to continue the usage of coronation names instead of starting a new with a new title. Kasier Hosian VI was an autocrat and attempted to solidify more powers in the hands of the Emperor but was checked by a very powerful Reichstag, which became the parliament of the newly founded Dundorfian Empire. The Dundorfian Empire lasted officially until 1923 when the First Dundorfian Civil War broke out. Although the Empire lasted until 1924 the Empire was gone much sooner, the Kasier Georg Wilhelm VI abdicated on March 8th, 1922 and a regency council reigned in his place until a total collapse in 1924. History Early period The Dundorfian Empire was not always a singular entity, though modern historians often associate it with a singular entity it went through many periods. Dundorf around BC 1000 through AD 800 began as a period of warring tribes underneath the singular name of the Durvin. These tribes developed individually but would come to develop a strong, decentralized civilization throughout central and northern Artania. The Durvin tribe began to spread from central Artania, now modern Dundorf. The Durvin originally existed somewhere near the base of modern Dorvik and eventually migrated south when the Tokundian people, who are ancestral descendants of modern Deltarians settled in modern Dundorf. Historians often debate the movements of the Durvin people as they were heavily decentralized and little remains of these incredibly war-like people Between 600 and 400 BC the modern Dundorfian region of Zackerland (now Grozvic) is believed to be the greatest extent of the Tokundians, it is believed in this area that the two cultures intermixed socially and culturally with several modern Dundorfian folk cultural activities borrowed from this apparent meeting. Linguists believe that the mixture of these two cultures created the hybrid language known as Dunedurven (believed to be named after an ancient ethnic Dundorfian village of the same name), which is the direct ancestor of modern Dundorfian. As the Tokundians began their migrations towards Majatra, some Dundorfians went with them. This continual migration is believed to have driven the Dundorfians further south to the areas of the area now known as Ichredön. It is believed that around 320 BC the Dundorfians, with newly founded Tokundian weapons, the Dundorfians began raiding into Kirlawa, Rutania as well as limited success in what would eventually become Kundrati. After the Tokundian migrations the Durvin tribes remained relatively at peace when it came to external relations with other "nations". The Durvin tribes continued to war with each other for the next couple of centuries, with the areas of Southern Dundorf and Ikradon becoming incredibly rich due to their warmer climate. Many of the Dundorfian tribes would go on to settle in their respective lands and warred with each other. Ecological historians suggest that the population of the Durvin tribes grew at a faster rate between 200 BC and 200 AD because of the climate warmed up in central and northern parts of Artania, leading to a growth of crops and increase in population. Those who settled in the central and northern portion of Artania often went south to join Dundorfian raider groups that would raid the fertile and trade-rich Ichredön, which had been settled as a blending of Tokundians and Dundorfians. The language that developed due to the Tokundian and Dundorfian settlement in Ichredön would go on to be a linguistic anomaly but remain an incredibly important language throughout the history of the world. The period of raiding would be known as Feunodden (Old Ichredöne: "North Fire"; believed to derive from direction of and the torching of buildings by the raiders) was a known period of raiding against the rich southern portion of Artania. By 800 AD the Dundorfian raiders had overrun the modern region of Ichredön and had married, killed and bought their way into the highest ranks of Ikradonian social and political power. While the northern portion of Artania remained in a state of war with petty kingdoms and Dundorfic fiefdoms sprouting up and being destroyed, the Ichredönian enjoyed success due to the Gulf of Ikradon and trade with newer nations and nation-states that began to sprout up over the unknown world to the Dundorfians. One of the major developments of this time was the adaptation of Apostolic Hosianism which would have a lasting future effect on the entire world. First Confederation As the Durvin tribes began to mesh and assimilate with each other the adaptation of the modern Dundorfian language became commonplace. Many of the regional languages and what is known as proto-Dundorfian began to die off. During this period the development of what would become known as the Uradel' or "Old Nobility would be formed underneath the banners of many prominent Dundorfian families, several of them being: von Eschenbach, von Kahr and von Burchardinger and dozens of others. The concept of landownership became divided between Principalities, Duchies and Countries and several Dundorfian-specific ownerships such as Margraves. The Durvin tribes, to distinguish themselves from the Ikradonians who had become their enemies, began to call themselves the Dundorfians from the name of the land that they settled. One of the main adaptations that the Ichredönians had provided to the Dundorfian was the concept of government and centralization, thus the first Confederation of Nobility was formed. This confederation was the first semi unified Dundorfian government who helped oversee the management of new lands added to their growing empire as well as oversee lands currently owned by them. This adaption from the Ichredönians would lead to the nobles of the growing Dundorfian Confederation to form the first Dundorfian Reich, the term is often translated by historians as "Empire" but more accurately is translated to as "realm". The Dundorfians, despite being centralized held a very strong cultural bond with each other and this promoted a very early form of nationalism within the Dundorfian tribes. While they often quarreled with each other when an external enemy appeared they would often unite against them briefly before returning to their respective in fighting. This first confederation was lead by the Kaiserlicher Kurfursten Rat (Dundorfian: Imperial Elector Council) which at this time rarely met, it represented all of the Hochadel (High nobles or the upper tier nobles or uradel). This "Imperial Elector Council" met infrequently but still maintained incredibly power within the first confederation with the responsibility of electing the head of the Dundorfian Reich, the King of Dundorf and Ikradon (Dundorfian: Konig von Dundorf und Ichredön). The Imperial Elector Council was summoned by the Apostolic Archbishop of Oderveld, who was considered to be the most senior Dundorfian bishop to the Holy Apostolic Church. The Archbishop had to summon the council within one month of the King's death and had to meet within three months to choose a successor. Manfred II von Eschenbach, the Grand Duke of Zackerland was elected as the first King of Dundorf and Ikradon (r. 1059 to 1064). The first King held little power but he was a unifying figure in the history of the Reich, he organized defense of the Reich, was responsible to represent the Reich to foreigners and helped to resolve disputes within the kingdom. Though the King had been a "central" figure the concept of feudalism reigned supreme and local autonomy was paramount on most matters of society and state, even with the advent of the confederation the local nobility never revealed their previous powers. Ichredön, though dominated by Dundorfian nobles was rebellious. The Ichredönian did not take well to the Dundorfians ruling and taking a portion of their trade with foreign nations. In 1267 underneath Ikradonian "King" Ikradonous III he invaded the Duchy of Gildark, however the "King" was met by Count (Graf) Gerhard Joseph von Wittelsbach and was defeated; von Wittelsbach was awarded with the title of Grand Duke and his lands moved up to the status of Grand Duchy by King Hans Otto II von Burchardinger, Prince of Rheinbach (r. 1260 - 1275). This was not the first time in 1272 King Ikradonous III returned after a period of exile and at Felsen a fortress of the Ritterdundorfischer battled Count Peter Sebastian von Rommel, von Rommel was defeated and forced the Dundorfian and Ikradonians to sit down and come up with a peace accord. Though the peace accord saw many ethnic Dundorfians leave Ichredön, it also saw the fall of the House of Burchardinger as King Hans Otto III was killed in a rearguard action at the river Ode, a major river running through Ikradon into the Gulf of Ikradon. Though the loss of the King dealt a serious blow to the House of Burchardinger, they retained their position as Uradel. With the Felsen Treaty signed in 1274 the Dundorfian Reich took a serious look internally. Many Dundorfian nobles believed that the Ikradonians would not honor the treaty and try to usurp the position of Dundorfian Emperor and the nobles firmly believed that they needed more leadership from the Imperial Elector Council and the new King. In 1278 the King and the Imperial Elector Council called a Grand Council (Dundorfian: Großen Rat) of all men of noble birth from throughout the kingdom. The new council met in November and decided to take steps to alleviate their situation. Despite opposition the nobles voted to give up most of their autonomy to a centralized authority in the King and the Imperial Elector Council. Autocratic Era In the period of 1279 through the early 1500s the King and the Imperial Elector Council ruled with varying degrees of power, at times they were able to be highly centralized and other times they fought a losing battle to the same decentralization that they had won years early. The gradual shift was towards loosening centralization. This period however was one of stability, cultural and economic growth for a majority of the peoples living underneath the Dundorfian Reich; major cities experienced a massive revival and renewal of interests in humanity, culture and overall quality of life. Rural Dundorf remained the same but slowly these ideals would spread throughout the entire empire. University towns such as Chonstaat-am-Bingen (Rabstein), Haldor (Kordusia), Unterschloss (Oderveld) and Volzhaus (Rheinbach) developed with the help of the Apostolic Church, this had increased the prestige and wealth of the Kingdom overall. Government and politics The early Dundorfian Reich was a feudalistic monarchy, very common place during the Teilung period (Dundorfian: Sundering period) with a very decentralized elective monarchy where the Imperial Elector Council would choose one of many leading nobles of the time period and they would assume the mantle of "King of Dorvik and Ikradon". As the Dundorfian Reich continued to grow it became more of an "Empire" and the title of King eventually transformed into the term Kaiser which is Dundorfian for Emperor. As the new empire grew and progressed things began to change and by the early 19th century the movement was towards centralization. The late Dundorfian Empire was in theory a constitutional monarchy ruled by the Reichstag, the legislature of the Dundorfian Empire and the Reich Chancellor (the appointed head of government) but the Kasier exercised such immense influence that during the later stages the Kasier's often ruled through decree. The Kasier (Luthoran: Emperor) was the hereditary head of state of the Dundorfian Empire, the first Kasier was elected in 1831 which began the formation of the Dundorfian Empire (known as the Dundorfian Reich in Dundorfian) and from there became a successive monarchy. The House of Hohenstauffen ruled the Dundorfian Empire after their election by the Constitutional Assembly (Dundorfian: Verfassungsversammlung) which drafted the Constitution of the Dundorfian Empire. The House of Klings formerly ruled the Dundorfian Kingdom prior to the Constitutional Assembly which elected Friedrich Wilhelm IV von Hohenstauffen (Prince of Oderveld and Duke of Hohenstauffen) as the first Dundorfian Kasier. The government of the Dundorfian Empire was center around the Reich Chancellor (Dundorfian: Reichskanzler) who was the head of government and was appointed by the Kaiser and served at his behest. The Reich Chancellor presided over the Reichstag and was responsible for the development of policies and carrying out the wishes of the Kaiser. The Reichstag had several powers, they had the power of legislative initiative and had authority to make the budgets of the Empire, however the Kasier retained the ability to veto any legislation and budget proposals. This was often done when the Kasier and the Reichstag were at odds with each other. Membership in the Reichstag was considered a prestigious position and its members were elected by a 3 class suffrage system which granted the nobles the lead almost exclusively. Elections in the Reichstag were held every 5 years starting 1832 Constituent states Economics The early Dundorfian Reich revolved primarily around agriculture and textile manufacturing with several trading guilds sprouting up that effectively managed all external trade within the reich. The Dundorfian monarchy would eventually become very close to the trading guilds and it was one way that the Dundorfian monarchs kept and maintained their power. At several points in the history of the Dundorfian Reich did the noble holdings fight each other over trade disputes or begin trading wars with other nations due to the actions of the trading guilds. As the Reich grew, several of the states began to create their own trading companies to either manage overseas territories or try to muscle out the older trading guilds. One of the most successful was the Dorvish Southern Trading Company which owned the Dorvish-Majatran Bank which owned Dorvish Majatra and effectively sealed off Dorvik from competing trade guilds and solidified Dorvish dominance within the Dundorfian Reich itself. As the Industrial Revolution swept throughout the world, notably in Luthori, which had been building her empire throughout the world, the Dundorfian Reich adopted many of the techniques that they had learned through trade and conquest. As the Industrial Revolution grew, so did the economy of the Dundorfian Reich. The Dundorfian Reich would expand into heavy industry and become one of the worlds leading exporters in steel and metals, they would also supply a huge percentage of timber throughout the world. In the early 16th century the Reichsbank formed, the Reichsbank would become one of the wealthiest banks in the world and even after the collapse of National Socialist Dundorf, the Reichsbank exists as a massive, wealthy banking and financial institution in Artania today. Military The early Dundorfian Reich was a feudalistic monarchy which relied upon the Reich's Levy (Dundorfian: Reichsabgabe) which was if the Dundorfian monarch would call upon his vassals to supply him with troops to fight a war. Each of the respective Dundorfian noble holdings maintained their own military and troops, this would eventually change as professionalization would be required to fight greater and greater enemies. The Reichsheer was the military of the later Dundorfian Reich which evolved from a decentralized model to a highly centralized model underneath the Dundorfian General Staff. The Reichsheer comprised the military of the constituent states of the Dundorfian Reich. The Reichsheer comprised the Reichsheer (army) and the Reichsflotte (navy). These were the two primary branches of the Reichsheer, eventually the Reichsfliegertruppe (air force) would be added in the early 20th century. The Reichsheer lead a pioneering vision in warfare and their innovation would carry on throughout their history. During the collapse of the Dundorfian Reich period of history the Reichsheer was supplemented by the Selbstschutzverband (Luthorian: Self-Protection Associations), which were cultural, political and economic organizations founded in areas that were considered to be non-Dundorfian or had growing local cultures and the Freikorps (Luthorian: Free Corps) were ultranationalist paramilitary organizations founded to combat the growing anti-Dundorfian, socialist and communist movements which had begun to rise in the mid-18th century. By the time of National Socialist Dundorf the Freikorps had been absorbed due their difficulty to control and the Volksdundorfische Cultural Association had been founded and was underneath the control of the Dundorfian National Socialist Movement. Demographics The Dundorfian Reich was primarily made up of what was known as Reichdundorfische (Luthorian: Reich Dundorfians) which were Dundorfians who came from one the five main regions of Dundorf itself or were Volksdundorfische (Luthorian: "People's Dundorfians) which were ethnicities that retained primarily Dundorfian characteristics that had moved to different areas of the Dundorfian Reich such as Dorvik, Rumania and others. While areas such as Dorvik and Rutania saw massive immigration of Volksdundorfische and large growth rates, other areas of the Reich were not so fortunate. Several of the proto-Dundorfian tribes had formed distinct cultures that would later come into conflict with the Dundorfians and become their enemies. For example, several of the tribes that existed in Aloria would become heavily influenced by Luthori and adopt bastardizations of Luthorian language. Kirlawa had a large influence from Kerisians who had landed previously before during various migrations throughout history, though they retained Dundorfic characteristics they would eventually go on to adopt Luthorian as their primary language. The development of the Selbstschutzerverband and the Freikorps played heavily into what Reich Chancellor NAME called Kulturkampf (Luthorian: Culture struggle/battle) which was the metaphorical, sometimes physical battle between pro-Dundorfians and growing national cultures during the mid to late 19th century.